Chapter 21
"Rael. Last ti you were with the Alfraian knights, and now it's a human?"
"Aren't we all the sa anyway?"
"We're here to welco the guest, not to welco a human."
"Before being a guest, he's a human. At least by my standards."
"Hmph."
The exchange between the elderly elf and Rael was drowned out by the voices of the other elves crowding around Yaan.
While this was happening, the elves who had gathered around Yaan were touching his uniform and tapping their own foreheads a couple of tis before bowing deeply-repeating the gesture.
"What are they doing...."
Just like when he had first t Rael, this was the first ti Yaan had ever had elves this close, so he could only watch awkwardly as they continued.
"Now, now. Step back, step back."
"Let's not make trouble for no reason and just part on good terms, alright?"
Soldiers pushed through the crowd and began controlling the villagers, finally allowing Yaan to break free from their hands.
"Corporal Yaan. Are you alright?"
"Yes. They only tugged at my clothes a bit."
"That's a relief, but...."
Rael and the village head approached Dandel, who spoke with evident unease.
"Welco. Having the honor of receiving such a distinguished guest is the pride of our tribe."
As the village head bowed, Yaan's expression grew even more puzzled.
"Guest... are you referring to ?"
It was Rael who answered his question.
"We call those who move the Creator's relics that. Especially that Fra is deeply tied to this village."
"Deeply tied how?"
"It was the young people of our village who first discovered that Creator's Fra."
The village head answered Yaan's follow-up.
Creator's Fra.
Hearing such a grandiose na applied to Glaepnir made Yaan's face twist slightly. Yet at the sa ti, he felt he understood why Rael had brought him into this village.
"There used to be another village where that thing was buried."
It had existed.
And had been erased by Yaan's own hand.
"Once, they were part of our tribe. But so broke away, dissatisfied with the way we enshrined the Fra."
"Huh."
So they'd had their own conflicts. Nodding vaguely at the thought, Yaan watched the village head approach.
After a mont, the old elf placed a hand on Yaan's shoulder and tapped his own forehead twice.
Even while performing what seed to be a ritual, he kept speaking.
"When we first found the Fra, we opened it and welcod the Creator who dwelled within. Now it is kept in a shrine behind the village."
"The Creator? You an an Ancient corpse?"
"In human terms, yes."
The elves might find the phrasing blasphemous, but what did it matter? Yaan's blunt questioning didn't bother him in the slightest.
'So that thing's original owner.'
Curiosity flickered, but no more than that; he had no intention of going to check. Yaan glanced at Glaepnir, still kneeling on one knee.
Young elves crept forward shyly, laid flowers and little trinkets at the Fra's feet, then scampered away.
'It's not a wishing fountain; what are they doing.'
While he was thinking that, Rael's voice pulled him from his reverie.
"It seems the guest is searching for other relics. We'll need the village head's help."
"Hmph. Isn't it you who needs the relic? If you're planning to use the guest, I won't stand idle."
Rael didn't seem particularly welco here either. Still, only Yaan-or perhaps Rael over there-could speak with them at all.
The soldiers standing guard around Glaepnir had not exchanged a single word with anyone.
"I do need it. Whatever it may be."
When Yaan said that, the village head bowed again and opened his mouth. The weight the title "guest" carried for these people beca clear once more.
"We have found nothing new in our village, but I will ask the other villages. I'll send word through him."
As he spoke, the village head pointed at Rael.
Yaan found it odd how the old elf treated Rael like a servant or hireling, but recalling what Rael had once said, he could only sigh inwardly.
'The elves of Alfraia think of as sothing lower than goblins.'
Did the wild elves share that view? Watching Rael give a wry, familiar smile, Yaan bowed politely to the village head.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Then as soon as news arrives...."
Piyuuuu-!
Yaan's words were cut short.
A red light streaked skyward in the distance.
It wasn't elven magic-it was a flare fired from the allied camp.
"Enemy assault!? Impossible! Most of the Elf Kingdom's front lines have already fallen!"
While Dandel's shout rang out, Yaan sprinted toward Glaepnir.
Glaepnir's hand caught him mid-leap and pushed him into the cockpit.
[Pilot onboard confird.]
"Enemy numbers?"
[Classifying per pre-loaded data. Confird five assault-gun-equipped Fras.]
Five dots lit up on the map that appeared with Nill's voice.
Five colossi racing toward the Elf Kingdom's position at high speed.
Far faster than any Fras they had faced before.
[Hostile Fras. Closing at 150% speed of previously encountered units. ETA to front lines: 20 minutes.]
"What, these aren't those green guys we fought before?"
[Confird different silhouette and materials from previously detected units. Identified as new model.]
On Nill's report, Yaan imdiately activated the loudspeaker.
At the sa ti, Glaepnir rose to its feet.
The flowers the elves had laid scattered to the ground.
-I'll head out first. Return to base.
Dandel answered as if in reply.
"Everyone, return! Hurry!"
Confirming the soldiers moving in haste, Yaan took Glaepnir's controls.
Heavy footfalls fading from the village, Glaepnir crouched low toward the enemy Fras.
[Switching to combat output. Glaepnir, rolling out.]
Thud!
With an earth-shaking roar, Glaepnir's massive fra sprang skyward.
"Whoa!?"
"Kyaaah!"
"Wh-what was that? A lightning strike!?"
Several elves scread at the cannon-like launch.
"Heh... this is... beyond imagination!"
"Such movent... it's as if we're truly in the presence of the Creator...!"
From behind Rael ca the village head's awed whisper.
"Page Three plus that Fra versus Colossus Four... I thought it had to be either madness or Randel's talent finally blooming, but I was wrong on both counts."
Muttering to himself, Rael watched Glaepnir shrink to a tiny speck, and grinned.
"He wiped them out alone! Piloting that Fra like it was his own body!"
His smile deepened into an eerie, rictus grin, but in the urgency of the mont, no one noticed.
***
-Delranel. How's the new Fra?
-Ah, y-yes. It's on a whole different level from Colossus Four.
Delranel gave a perfunctory answer to the proud voices of the headquarters' royal guards, but the hand gripping the stick still trembled.
"It's all right... these are His Majesty the Saint King's own royal guards. They won't go down easily...."
Delranel had returned to the main force with the two cadets. The two knights, ntally shattered, were sent ho for treatnt, and he had no choice but to await headquarters' judgnt.
But headquarters' decision defied his expectations. Rather than bla him, they praised him for rescuing the two knights and promoted him.
'I have confird that the Creator's legacy has been plundered and handled, and you fought splendidly against that overwhelming power. I comnd your rit and bestow upon you a new Fra with my own hand.'
Even as he held the royal letter bestowed by the Saint King himself, the reality of it refused to sink in. Yet this only proved how dangerous the monster he had faced truly was.
- Head Knight Varthael relays. Ten minutes until arrival. Inspect every Fra and weapon.
- Karyel Fra, no issues.
- Vamiel Fra, no issues.
- Mirel Fra, no issues.
The Captain's order rang out, but Delranel, clutching his trembling hands in anxiety, seed not to hear it.
- Delranel. Any problem?
"Ah!"
Startled by Captain Varthael's voice over the loudspeaker, Delranel ca to his senses and belatedly switched on his own loudspeaker.
- D-Delranel Fra. No issues. My apologies.
Varthael's eyes deepened as he glanced once at Delranel after that reply. No matter how powerful the enemy, for a royal guard to shrink like this before even eting it...
'Just how formidable is the Creator's relic...'
While he was thinking that, the voices of the other knights reached him.
- For all the fuss they made firing flares, there's no resistance?
- There was intel that the artillery corps and the knights had pulled back. Looks like that guy wasn't lying after all.
- Hmph, the filthy half-blood did his bit.
- The mont the red flares lighting the sky went out, Karyel's voice ca from ahead.
- Enemy Fra confird ahead!
- What? Didn't they say they'd withdrawn the colossus?
- Was the intel false?
- All units, scatter! Don't leave any gaps!
What stood before them was an ashen colossus they had never seen before.
Seeing the alien silhouette for the first ti, the knights swallowed dryly as they studied it through their scopes.
'So the report was true. It doesn't look like any colossus we know....'
Compared to the colossi of the Vailsar Empire, the Alfraian-made colossi were crafted with considerable precision. Among them, the Colossus Six they piloted boasted the latest technology in every part-precision components, armor materials, everything.
Thus, unlike the bulky silhouettes of other colossi, this Fra was remarkably sleek.
Yet what was that Fra?
Its matte ashen body seed to replicate human proportions exactly.
But even stranger than that was the armor encasing it.
It appeared forged as a single piece, yet closer inspection revealed countless armor plates interlocking like a puzzle.
In particular, the armor covering both arms, layered like insect wings, concealed multiple plates and chanical devices.
Should it unfurl, it might resemble petals-or perhaps the mane of a lion or wolf.
- We'll keep the searchlight on it. Maintain distance and provide cover!
- Order acknowledged!
In an instant, the Colossus Six units ford a semicircle around Glaepnir. A mont later, light from one of them began to illuminate Glaepnir.
They leveled the massive assault guns on their shoulders at Yaan, who had lowered his stance.
"Their weapons look a lot bigger this ti."
[Analyzing enemy armant. Estimated 210mm long-barreled rifled gun. Direct penetration unlikely, but impact may damage armor or inflict internal injuries on the pilot.]
"I'll evade as best I can and hold out. Support ."
[Order acknowledged. Synchronization fixed. Initiating combat control.]
Yaan and Nill discussed tactics.
anwhile, the Colossus Six units exchanged hand signals and opened fire with their assault guns.
Thwoom!
A roar incomparable to the cannons they had seen before.
The instant it fired, Glaepnir's silhouette shot toward the colossus at the far right.
- It's coming this way!
- Damn it, how can it be so accurate without even a searchlight...!
- Stay calm! We'll provide cover with sequential fire!
Having dodged the barrage, Glaepnir fell from mid-air; the colossus leapt backward as it watched.
One shot, then two. While deflecting the artillery aid at mid-air Glaepnir, the landing point veered off.
Boom!
[Calculating impact. Initiating pilot status diagnosis.]
"My bones are rattling, but I can take it. Still, this..."
Thanks to the angled armor applied throughout, Glaepnir deflected the shells while minimizing impact.
It was possible only because Nill adjusted the armor angles after calculating the firing vectors.
The elf knights gasped at the armor that moved as if alive.
- Damn, it really is a monster!
- Keep pressing it and wear down the pilot's stamina! The Fra may be a monster, but the one inside is human!
At Karyel's shout, Head Knight Varthael fired his assault gun at Glaepnir without delay.
The Colossus Six-exclusive assault gun, twice the size of standard models.
Few among the elves possessed the mana needed to withstand its recoil.
Thwoom!
The closer the range, the more precise the barrage.
Unlike Yaan, who watched them clearly through night-vision monitors, they relied on a single searchlight, yet their fire was as accurate as in broad daylight.
Their coordination was on a level far beyond the knights they had faced before.
"What the hell is the central front doing, sending these guys to the frontier...!"
Even as he spat that out, Yaan's Glaepnir leapt again.
The colossi even predicted his landing spot and rained shells there, giving him no mont to rest.
Clang-!
"Aagh!?"
A shell struck his shoulder, sparks flying as it ricocheted. Yaan clenched his teeth at the impact.
[Damage control results. Estimated penetration offset by 70%. Diagnosing pilot status.]
"So that was only thirty percent of the original impact...!"
The Fra was intact, yet to synchronize his entire body with it for free movent-
Every ti Glaepnir was hit, pain surged as if he himself had taken the blow.
[Analyzing enemy unit equipnt and coordination. Recomnding long-range armant. Considering current situation and pilot status, withdrawal advised.]
"If I fall back, those things will charge the main force, won't they?"
[Confird.]
Even as he said that, cold sweat poured from Yaan under the relentless barrage.
The upgraded Fras and weapons. The seamless coordination. This foe was on an entirely different level from any he had faced.
Fatigue from battle itself built up before operational ti even began.
- Good. Keep pressing like this....
- No!
It was Delranel who stopped Varthael from giving the order to pursue.
- We're almost out of armor-piercing shells. If we keep fighting, we'll be forced into close combat.
- ...Tch. You're right.
Because this was a surprise raid, most of the shells the colossi carried were anti-personnel and high-explosive rounds.
Against armor that wouldn't yield even to fortress-breaching armor-piercing rounds, they couldn't inflict proper damage.
Recalling the fate of the previous knights who had allowed close combat, Delranel spoke; Varthael quietly agreed.
This man had fought that monster more than anyone.
- Cease pursuit. There's no gain in continuing. We're withdrawing!
- We must've hit it close to thirty tis, and it's still fine....
- Can we even take that thing down?
Even after the concentrated fire of five new-model colossi, Glaepnir still stood on two legs-prompting the other knights to click their tongues in dismay.
Of course, Yaan inside was gasping for breath, about to collapse at any mont, but they had no way of knowing.
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